In a new paper published in Nature Medicine, MCB Assistant Professors Helen Bateup and Dirk Hockemeyer modeled cortical tubers, or regions of disorganized neurons and glia in the cortex, with 3D human brain organoids. Cortical tubers are hallmark pathologies of tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), a rare genetic disease which causes benign tumors on the brain and other organs. The research suggests that variable developmental timing of somatic mutations in tuber cells contributes to the neurological presentation of TSC.

MCB graduate student John Blair is also a co-author of the research.

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Image credit: Blair et al., Nature Medicine (2018).